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08-28-2014 10:35 AM
08-28-2014 05:47 PM
Hi snowkita,,Ive been in the business for 37 years.....(OUCH!!!) and what your new dentist is telling you is correct. I have now been in this practice of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery for 22 years...we often,,most often,,do both sides at the same time, as in extracting wisdom teeth or even removing cysts and tumors. It is all dependant on what the patient wants. It is , in this office anyway, beneficial to the patient to have it all done at once since most of them have sedation (costly) so, they choose to pay for sedation once and get it all done. No problems that I've ever seen with anesthitising both sides. Hope that helps.
08-28-2014 06:23 PM
animalsrus,
I have an unrelated question for you. (sorry SnowKita)
You stated that you work in Oral and Maxillofacial dentistry. We have one such doctor in our small town that is also doing facial fillers and Botox. Is this the norm? Just wondering....
TIA
08-28-2014 08:23 PM
Hi! I'm an expanded function dental hygienist for almost 20 years. While animalsrus is correct for surgical procedures, it can be a bit different for general practices, especially without sedation.
There are several variables in determining the amount and placement of local anesthetic. First, is it medically safe for the patient to have the anesthetic with epinephrine. While there are anesthetics without epi, commonly used local anesthetics raise the heart rate (giving you the jittery effect).
Second, is the procedure one where both sides of the mouth are involved, such as a partial or denture.
Third, are the procedures on the maxillary (top) or mandibular (lower) - the reason being, the top generally consists of smaller, more local anesthetic (only a few teeth numbed at a time) where the bottom is usually done with a "block" which numb the whole lower quadrant. For the patient's consideration, it's customary to leave one side of the mouth for the patient to chew with, as almost always with local anesthesia the tongue becomes numb also. Chewing on the tongue can be nasty.
Fourth, are the procedures small 1 or 2 surface "fillings" or more extensive, such as crown preps.
There are many variables in deciding local anesthetic usage. Hope this helps.
08-28-2014 08:37 PM
On 8/28/2014 tends2dogs said:animalsrus,
I have an unrelated question for you. (sorry SnowKita)
You stated that you work in Oral and Maxillofacial dentistry. We have one such doctor in our small town that is also doing facial fillers and Botox. Is this the norm? Just wondering....
TIA
I hope you don't mind me jumping in here. While a oral & maxillary practice may do this, as many of the top doctors in this field are both MDs & DDS (DMD). I do feel these cosmetic procedures are, what I would consider, outside the scope of general practice dentistry. I'm sure many dentists take a few-hour course and feel comfortable adding these cheap (for the practitioner), quick & easy pure profit-mailing procedures.
I'm not sure where the ADA stands on this at the moment, but I know this sort of "outside the scope of dentistry" practices were looked at closely around 15 years ago. Many patients were having "permanent makeup/lip tattoos" done and the side effects of many dental local anesthesia injections are numb lips. Patients would come in, I'd numb them up, the dental office would charge an astronomical amount and everyone was happy....except the ADA, who put a cabosh on the fun pretty quickly.
08-28-2014 08:45 PM
On 8/28/2014 animalsrus said:Hi snowkita,,Ive been in the business for 37 years.....(OUCH!!!) and what your new dentist is telling you is correct. I have now been in this practice of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery for 22 years...we often,,most often,,do both sides at the same time, as in extracting wisdom teeth or even removing cysts and tumors. It is all dependant on what the patient wants. It is , in this office anyway, beneficial to the patient to have it all done at once since most of them have sedation (costly) so, they choose to pay for sedation once and get it all done. No problems that I've ever seen with anesthitising both sides. Hope that helps.
You probably shouldn't have told us what you do.........but since I ma having tons of dental work done lately and you have been around 37 years(something to be proud of ), I am going to be rude and ask you a couple of questions and I understand if do not care to answer.
I am a bit concerned because my new younger dentist ( he has been around now for maybe 8 years) doesnt ever want to do an extraction EVER. He sends us to an Oral surgeon. This is his policy with everybody and almost every tooth needs a crown. Should I be looking for a second opinion. He is nice but seems focused on making the most of each tooth.
08-28-2014 09:19 PM
08-28-2014 10:16 PM
I worked for a peridontist for 23 years and its perfectly fine giving local on both sides of the mouth.As for extractions,my preference for molars or any teeth that are badly decayed would be an oral surgeon and of course wisdom teeth.
I know many dentists now that are doing the botox thing and I personally think they should stick to dentistry.Its all about bringing in the extra dollars and I wouldn't go that route.I like specialists that stick to their specialty,jack of all trades and master of none
08-29-2014 12:04 AM
08-29-2014 12:10 AM
On 8/28/2014 tends2dogs said:animalsrus,
I have an unrelated question for you. (sorry SnowKita)
You stated that you work in Oral and Maxillofacial dentistry. We have one such doctor in our small town that is also doing facial fillers and Botox. Is this the norm? Just wondering....
TIA
If you are talking about a Maxillofacial Surgeon, I would have no qualms whatsoever about that physician giving me botox or fillers. A Maxillofacial Surgeon is most often a dentist and an M. D. (or D. O.)surgeon trained in all things maxillofacial, including trauma surgery. They have waaayyyy above and beyond the experience of NPs doing it in derm offices these days. No qualms whatsoever. I wouldn't let a straight dentist do it though. fwiw
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